Employment Advice From Cintas’ Takiyah Cunningham
9 . Tell me about a time when you had to work with a difficult or disruptive person. It may be a client, manager, or coworker. How did you handle the situation? What was the outcome?
People skills are highly valued in a company. It is important to show how you can manage difficult personalities, especially if you are applying for a job that involves teamwork, or a lot of interactions with clients.
- What have you found about the company and its culture?
- What have you learned about how the employees value each other?
- How do they treat their customers?
- Do they have any specific standards and policies?
Use the triple A of diffusing a difficult situation:
If it is a customer, it would add that extra touch if you “Ask” for the customers contact information so you can update them of any progress on their issue.
This question is asked 2.1x more frequently at Cintas than at other companies.
7 . How would you handle a customer with difficult behavior?
People skills are highly valued in every company, and even so much more so in a company that deals with difficult customers occasionally. It is important to show how you can manage difficult personalities.
- Do you have certain principles, or methodology, to deal with difficult people?
- Do you have strong people skills, are you good at conflict resolution?
- Are you high on emotional intelligence? Can you give an example?
- What have you found about the company and its culture?
- What have you learned about how the employees value each other?
- How do they treat their customers?
- Knowing their line of business or industry, what can be some examples of difficult customers?
Do your research.
One methodology for diffusing a difficult situation is called âthe triple Aâ approach:
If it is a customer, it would add that extra touch if you added another “A” to your approach by Asking for the customers contact information so you can update them of any progress on their issue.
This question is asked 17% less frequently at Cintas than at other companies.
Take a quick quiz and check if youâre ready to answer this question at your next job interview:
Pick the best answer:
AIf the customer is rude and obnoxious, answer in kind and show him that he cannot push you around.
BListen carefully to what the customer is saying to really understand their concerns then repeat back to them what you heard to be sure you have it right, before attempting to help them with the problem.
CTell the customer that he should have known that the sale is final and there is nothing he can do to renegotiate the terms of the deal.
3 . Tell me about your greatest professional accomplishment
Of all your accomplishments (and I am sure youâve had a great many of them!), you should choose the one most relevant to this job position.
- What are the major projects going on?
- What are the expectations for the position you are applying for?
- Which of your Key Selling Points and accomplishments would be most relevant to the company?
- What âhave you accomplished at your new job?â
Choose the most relevant accomplishment from your list and then practice telling your story.
Most enterprises are now going through major transformations, often called Digital Transformation.
Do your research on what it means and what is often involved, to get a better idea of the current goals and environments in companies. But one thing that definitely characterizes this transformation is striving for agility.
In particular, for startups (if you are applying to a startup or a small business), agility is their middle name, in order for them to survive among bigger sharks in the market.
So, demonstrating qualities like agility and adaptability should generally be helpful and quite a safe choice in most circumstances today.
This question is asked 2.3x more frequently at Cintas than at other companies.
Take a quick quiz and check if youâre ready to answer this question at your next job interview:
Why do interviewers ask this question?
AThey want to know why you think the accomplishment you chose is your greatest, to give them an idea of what you think is important
BThey want to hear a specific example of your work to see if your problem solving skills fit in with the issues and problems their company might be experiencing
CThey want to know if you are a great multitasker who can get 10 different things done by the end of the day, no matter how long you have to stay at work to complete it all
Now that you have read some of our recommendations, you may wonder: âOk, so whatâs next? I seem to understand these concepts quite well and they kind of make sense to me, but how do I make sure my answers are actually in accordance with these recommendations, and I will stand out as a strong candidate in my upcoming interview?â
Good question. Assuming you are indeed qualified and fit for the position you are interviewing for, the best thing you can do is make sure the interviewer sees this fit.
There are two ways how you can leverage Mr. Simonâs expertise to help you shine your best:
To request the session, shoot us an email to [email protected] and attach your resume and job description to expedite the process.
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